Louvered shutters are known in the prior art for use in ventilating openings in various buildings. In general these shutters are free to move upon changes in pressure between the building interior and the outside air. Other more simple shutters do not include moveable slats or louvers that are responsive to changes in air pressure. Examples of these more simple shutters include the fixed, decorative shutters attached near the windows on many homes. As with any construction materials or components, there is a commercial benefit associated with finding new ways to efficiently store, ship, disassemble, and assemble the components. Efforts to incorporate these efficiency features into louvered shutters are demonstrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,055,467, 4,251,966, 5,673,526, 4,089,257, 5,924,255, and 2,544,182. All of these patents are directed towards shutters with fixed louvers. Such fixed shutters are more easily adapted to forms that allow convenient disassembly, assembly, and efficient space-saving storage for warehousing and shipment.
The ""467 patent demonstrates a decorative shutter construction wherein aluminum panels that simulate louver-blades are prefabricated and later cut to fit the desired frame dimensions. The ""467 patent does not disclose moveable louvers or a method that provides for the on-site construction of a ventilating, moveable-over shutter system. Similarly, the ""966 patent demonstrates decorative shutters of adjustable height using louver panels that have a variable number of slats that can be combined to provide a shutter of the desired height. However, as previously noted, the ""966 patent does not disclose moveable louvers or a convenient method for assembling shutters that have moveable louvers. The ""526 patent discloses fixed louvers designed for use in frames of various shapes that are intended to serve as vents for gables. The ""526 patent does not disclose moveable louvers or a convenient method for disassembling or reassembling shutters containing moveable louvers. The ""257 patent merely discloses a rigid system for use as a grill or grating to cover an air duct. This reference includes an easily disassembled apparatus, but the grill or grating does not include moveable louvers. Finally, the ""182 and ""255 patents disclose adjustable shutters that may be easily constructed, but the louvers in these shutters are fixed in place. The ""255 patent includes the feature of snap-together components, and both the ""255 and the ""182 patents include use of a supporting frame.
As these prior art references demonstrate, there is a need for shutters with moveable louvers that are adapted to be assembled at a construction site or at the point of application. Although the prior art does not disclose easy-to-assemble shutters with moveable louvers, the need for shutter systems adapted to be assembled at the point of application extends to moveable-louver shutters as well as fixed-louver shutters. Therefore, there is a need for shutters that include moveable louvers and that may be easily shipped in a disassembled condition for assembly at the point of application.
The present invention relates to snap-together shutters wherein moveable louvers may be mounted within a snap-together frame to allow for the convenient assembly of the shutters with or without the use of tools. The shutter includes a frame comprised of frame members that may be joined using corner pieces and T-pieces. For larger shutters, interior center bars may be used in combination with the frame members to support the moveable louvers. A series of pivot rods are mounted within the frame, and louver blades are mounted on the pivot rods. If the user intends to have predetermined groups of louver blades operate in combination, louver arm caps may be mounted on the pivot rods, and tie bars may be used to join the louver arm caps in the desired combinations.